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TIME: How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra
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| TIME: How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra
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| artechba |
The Iraqi military's offensive in Basra was supposed to demonstrate the power of the central government in Baghdad. Instead it has proven the continuing relevance of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, stood its ground in several days of heavy fighting with Iraqi soldiers backed up by American and British air power. But perhaps more important than the manner in which the militia fought is the manner in which it stopped fighting. On Sunday Sadr issued a call for members of the Mahdi Army to stop appearing in the streets with their weapons and to cease attacks on government installations. Within a day, the fighting had mostly ceased. It was an ominous answer to a question posed for months by U.S. military observes: Is Sadr still the leader of a unified movement and military force? The answer appears to be yes.
http://www.time.com/time/world/arti...00.html?cnn=yes |
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| JTProcess |
| well this solidifies my notion that Time / Warner hates America. |
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| Reverend Tyler |
| but I thought he waved the white flag? |
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| artechba |
It appears we replaced a socialist secular Saddam with a religious isolated al-Sadr
Great job. And Osama bin Laden is still loose. But, we're not concerned about him. Right? |
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| iatebethO |
| Better not tell NCMIkey, no better yet tell him, I can't wait to see his letter to Time letting everyone know how he owned them. |
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| NCMike06 |
Quote: Originally posted by iatebethO
Better not tell NCMIkey, no better yet tell him, I can't wait to see his letter to Time letting everyone know how he owned them. |
Ummm Hello...Sadr waived the white flag..... :burst: The leftbot media is all to ready to misinform the willing dupes in the hate America crowd (such as yourself) If you want a real picture of what happened...
http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/03/31...hant-surrender/
and here:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...curity_oper.php
| Quote: Maliki was clear that operations would continue in the South. "The armed groups who refuse al Sadr's announcement and the pardon we offered will be targets, especially those in possession of heavy weapons," Maliki said, referring to the 10-day amnesty period for militias to turn in heavy and medium weapons. "Security operations in Basra will continue to stop all the terrorist and criminal activities along with the organized gangs targeting people." |
| Quote: The reasons behind Sadr's call for a cessation in fighting remain unknown, but reports indicate the Mahdi Army was having a difficult time sustaining its operations and has taken heavy casualties. "Whatever gains [the Mahdi Army] has made in the field [in Basrah], they were running short of ammunition, food, and water," an anonymous US military officer serving in South told The Long War Journal. "In short [the Mahdi Army] had no ability to sustain the effort. |
| Quote: The Mahdi Army has also taken high casualties since the fighting began on March 25. According to an unofficial tally of the open source reporting from the US and Iraqi media and Multinational Forces Iraq, 571 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed, 881 have been wounded, 490 have been captured, and 30 have surrendered over the course of seven days of fighting |
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But you keep reading your buddies in the MSM....no wonder you are such a dumbfuck. |
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| Rastamon |
BAS: Bush Asslicking Syndrome |
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| Luther |
ANALYSIS-Iraqi crackdown backfires, strengthens Sadrists
Ross Colvin
Reuters North American News Service
Mar 31, 2008 09:49 EST
BAGHDAD, March 31 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's crackdown on militias in the southern oil port of Basra appears to have backfired, exposing the weakness of his army and strengthening his political foes ahead of elections.
U.S. President George W. Bush has praised the crackdown, calling it a "defining moment" for Iraq, but it has unleashed a wave of destabilising violence in southern Iraq and in Baghdad that risks undoing the security improvements of the past year.
It has also exposed a deep rift within Iraq's Shi'ite majority -- between the political parties in Maliki's government and followers of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Analysts say Iraqis may be about to witness a new phase in the cycle of violence that has gripped the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 -- intra-Shi'ite bloodletting that could tear Iraq apart and more deeply embroil U.S. forces.
Sadr on Sunday pulled back from all-out confrontation against Iraqi security forces and their U.S. backers, ordering his Mehdi Army militia to stop fighting. While Basra was reported to be calm on Monday, mortar attacks shook Baghdad.
"It will be a short honeymoon, especially with election time coming up," said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre.
Provincial elections are due to take place by October, with the Sadrists, who boycotted the last polls in 2005, vying for control of the mainly Shi'ite, oil-producing south with a powerful rival, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
"The stand-off is not over yet, it's only a truce ... provincial elections will trigger the battle again," predicted Hazem al-Nuaimi, a political analyst based in Baghdad.
ARMY UNPREPARED
Maliki flew to Basra last Tuesday to personally oversee a military operation he said was aimed at "cleaning up" the lawless city, which is controlled by criminal gangs and militias allied to various Shi'ite political parties.
The operation was lauded by U.S. and British officials as evidence of the growing strength of the Iraqi army, but by the weekend it had largely stalled, with Iraqi troops having failed to dislodge the gunmen from their strongholds.
Embarrassingly, Iraq's defence minister had to admit that despite much preparation, his forces were not ready for such fierce resistance. U.S. and British forces have intervened, launching air and artillery strikes to support Iraqi troops.
The fighting provoked a furious backlash by Mehdi Army fighters in other towns and cities in the oil-producing south. Hundreds have been killed in violence that Iraqi security forces have struggled to contain without U.S. military help.
"What has happened has weakened the government and shown the weakness of the state. Now the capability of the state to control Iraq is open to question," said Izzat al-Shahbander, a moderate Shi'ite politician from the Iraqi National List party.
Gareth Stansfield, a professor of Middle East politics at the University of Exeter in England, said Maliki had staked his political credibility on the show of force in Basra and lost.
"Maliki's credibility is shot at this point. He really thought his security forces could really do this. But he's failed," he said.
SADR LOOKS STRONGER
While Maliki has sought to portray the operation as an effort to reassert his government's control over Basra and crack down only on "criminals", not political parties, many analysts believe it is politically motivated.
The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the biggest Shi'ite party in government and an ally of Maliki's Dawa party, is battling for control of Basra in an often violent turf war that pits it against Sadrists and the smaller Fadhila party, which controls the local oil industry.
Sadrists accuse Maliki and the Supreme Council of trying to crush them ahead of the October provincial elections in which they are expected to make big gains at the expense of the Council, which controls many local authorities in the south.
"This is him (Maliki) basically preparing for an election. They need to disarm Sadr. The strongest militia in the city will control the vote," said Alani.
But Sadr aides say the Mehdi Army will not give up their weapons, raising the prospect of another confrontation, as the Iraqi military says it will press on with the Basra operation.
Sadr, ironically, may emerge stronger from the affair.
"Clearly Sadr has gained a victory. This was not a fight he picked and his forces looked strong. He has consolidated his position," said Stansfield.
The cleric, who is widely believed to be in Iran furthering his religious studies, now looks like the victim of political manoeuvring by Shi'ite parties in government.
"The Sadrists may have been strengthened in many people's minds. Many have seen the onslaught as unfair," said Reidar Visser, an expert on southern Iraq who edits the Web site www.historiae.org.
Iraqis will now be watching to see what happens next, but after enduring a bitter Sunni Arab insurgency and then a wave of sectarian violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis, they have become accustomed to expecting the worst.
"It's true there are no clashes, gunmen or explosions," said Jabbar Sabhan, a civil servant in Basra, "but the situation is still dangerous. I don't trust the words of politicians."
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=108498 |
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| Robinsmuff |
That leftist anti American Chuck Hagel just said basically the same thing as the Time article. But what does he know. He hates America & only wants us to fail unlike super Patriotic war heroes like NCmike.
So what if Iran is in control of Iraq & they are playing the puppet master. Tough guys like Mike will see to it that we kick ass & win this war. Fuck pussies like Hagel who shit down their pants everytime things get a little tough. |
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| NCMike06 |
| Only on the American left is surrender considered victory.... |
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| NCMike06 |
Quote: Originally posted by Robinsmuff
That leftist anti American Chuck Hagel just said basically the same thing as the Time article. But what does he know. He hates America & only wants us to fail unlike super Patriotic war heroes like NCmike.
So what if Iran is in control of Iraq & they are playing the puppet master. Tough guys like Mike will see to it that we kick ass & win this war. Fuck pussies like Hagel who shit down their pants everytime things get a little tough. |
Yeah, Hagel knows everything..... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: More so even people on the ground in Basra.....
If Sadr was winning, he waived the white flag why???? |
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| Fdubya247 |
NCDike69
Limp Member
Jerk-off
NCMike06
Stupid Member
Off-base |
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| MLBoros72s |
Quote: Originally posted by NCMike06
Only on the American left is surrender considered victory.... |
And only in the American right is an increase in violence proof that we're winning while a decrease in violence is also proof we're winning...
Hagel was right, it's Alice in Wonderland to you Bush-bots... |
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| NCMike06 |
Quote: Originally posted by MLBoros72s
And only in the American right is an increase in violence proof that we're winning while a decrease in violence is also proof we're winning...
Hagel was right, it's Alice in Wonderland to you Bush-bots... |
Violence increased greatly on June 6 1944, as compared to June 5. .... But I guess that was a bad thing, right??????
Only in the mind of a surrenderCrat. |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by NCDike06
Violence increased greatly on June 6 1944, as compared to June 5. .... But I guess that was a bad thing, right??????
Only in the mind of a surrenderCrat. |
....but the "mission" has been "accomplished" for 5 years!!!! This ain't "D-Day", Dipshit!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
:jj:
....another failed Dikey analogy. Nice line of cockroach "lojik" you've got going in here....
:freak: |
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| Robinsmuff |
Quote: Originally posted by NCMike06
Yeah, Hagel knows everything..... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: More so even people on the ground in Basra.....
If Sadr was winning, he waived the white flag why???? |
I am agreeing with you. I can't believe that pussy Hagel is disagreeing with a war hero who apparently is on the ground in Basra right now. You go get um stud!!! Even though I doubt bullets could hurt you, becareful anyway, we can't lose a true tough guy war hero like yourself. You would shit down Chuck's throat if he dared to cross your path, good thing he is not in Basra with you. |
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| NCMike06 |
Quote: Originally posted by Robinsmuff
I am agreeing with you. I can't believe that pussy Hagel is disagreeing with a war hero who apparently is on the ground in Basra right now. You go get um stud!!! Even though I doubt bullets could hurt you, becareful anyway, we can't lose a true tough guy war hero like yourself. You would shit down Chuck's throat if he dared to cross your path, good thing he is not in Basra with you. |
Have you taken your meds today???? |
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| Robinsmuff |
Quote: Originally posted by NCMike06
Have you taken your meds today???? |
Don't need them as long as I know heroes like you are on the front line defending me. |
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| NCMike06 |
Quote: Originally posted by Robinsmuff
Don't need them as long as I know heroes like you are on the front line defending me. |
Right...you just go back to living in your hypocritical world of lies and self deception, and everything will be alright...
And take those meds. |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by Robinsmuff
I am agreeing with you. I can't believe that pussy Hagel is disagreeing with a war hero who apparently is on the ground in Basra right now. You go get um stud!!! Even though I doubt bullets could hurt you, becareful anyway, we can't lose a true tough guy war hero like yourself. You would shit down Chuck's throat if he dared to cross your path, good thing he is not in Basra with you. |
:lol: |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by NCDike06
Right...you just go back to living in your hypocritical world of lies and self deception, and everything will be alright... |
homo says what...? Classic.
:jj: |
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| Luther |
Quote: Originally posted by NCMike06
Only on the American left is surrender considered victory.... |
If you think that the militias have surrendered to the U.S.-backed central government, then you must also think that George Washington surrendered to the British, that Mao surrendered to Chiang Kai-Shek, that Russia surrendered to Napoleon, etc. |
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| VacateTheWord |
Quote: Originally posted by Luther
If you think that the militias have surrendered to the U.S.-backed central government, then you must also think that George Washington surrendered to the British, that Mao surrendered to Chiang Kai-Shek, that Russia surrendered to Napoleon, etc. |
No, they haven't. But al-Sadr is playing a political game looking to consolidate power. Ultimately he will either try to survive with his rogue Mahdi Army or he will have to disband his militia and fall into the fold. The former is not a sustainable position - if he thought it was, he wouldn't have called for a cease-fire once the reinforcements rolled into Iraq a year ago. |
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| Rastamon |
Quote: Originally posted by VacateTheWord
No, they haven't. But al-Sadr is playing a political game looking to consolidate power. Ultimately he will either try to survive with his rogue Mahdi Army or he will have to disband his militia and fall into the fold. The former is not a sustainable position - if he thought it was, he wouldn't have called for a cease-fire once the reinforcements rolled into Iraq a year ago. |
:lol: al-Sadr is getting everything he needs |
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| Fdubya247 |
Quote: Originally posted by VacateTheTurd
if he thought it was, he wouldn't have called for a cease-fire once the reinforcements rolled into Iraq a year ago. |
Liar.
You've been told many times before that the cease-fire was not "called for" until September. If it were called "a year ago", then you are declaring things to be much much worse in Iraq than I am. 2007 being the bloodiest year of the war, and the Mahdi Army had no part?!? Wow. Even the grandmas must be packing AKs and planting IEDs.
The cease-fire had little to do with "the surge", and everything to do with $400,000,000+ in American bribes.
:rolleyes:
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